Hi, I'm Claire. This Blog Is For Every Woman Who's Ever Walked Into a Gym and Had No Idea What to Do

Y'all, I have a confession. I have been putting off starting this blog for way too long. I always had a sinking suspicion that the right moment would just show up, and I'd sit down and write something brilliant. That is not what happened. What happened is that I finally just decided to start, messy and imperfect and a little nervous, because I feel like that's actually kind of the whole point of what I do.

So. Hi. I'm Claire Sersun, online fitness coach for women, and I am so glad you found this little corner of the internet.

Let me tell you a little bit about how I got here, because I feel like the "why" matters more than the credentials.

I grew up in a military family, which meant moving every two to three years until I was in fifth grade. By the time we settled in El Segundo, California, basically Los Angeles, I was a kid who had learned to adapt fast and find her footing in new places. What helped me feel at home was movement. Dance was my anchor, and my dad's gym, El Segundo Athletic Club, right around the corner from our house, is where I got comfortable with the gym side of things. On Sundays when it was closed, my dad and I would go work out together. I worked the front desk once a week in high school, got to know the regulars, learned my way around the equipment. That time made me genuinely comfortable showing up in a gym atmosphere, which I know is not a given for everyone, and I am super grateful for the time I had in the gym.

I was a professional dancer. I started performing in high school and carried it through college and beyond, training constantly and building my whole life around movement. My senior year of college, COVID hit. Everything shut down, including most of the dance world. I kept performing, both online and in person once things slowly started opening back up.

During that time I hired an online personal trainer who specialized in working with dancers. And honestly, it changed a lot for me. I started actually learning, about form, about strength, about how to train with intention. I became the strongest I had ever been up to that point. It kept my focus sharp and gave me a sense of direction when everything else felt up in the air. And somewhere in there I thought, this is what I want to do for other people.

A few years later, I herniated a disc in my lumbar spine. I want to tell you about that because I think it is one of the most important things I have learned as a coach. When it happened, I stopped. I was scared, and honestly that fear kept me from moving for a while. But then I started working with a coach who helped my mind and my body become unscared. They helped me figure out what I could still do, not just what I could not. I could not do much with my lower body for a while, but I could still lift my arms. I could still show up. That mindset, keep moving and find the yes, is something I carry into every client relationship.

I have been in the fitness and wellness industry since 2018, and I am honestly kind of a certification hoarder. I love learning, I love the science, I love going deep on things. I have studied personal training, yoga, pilates, somatics, and I am always adding more because the human body is genuinely fascinating and I do not think I will ever be done being curious about it. The way movement affects mental health, how strength changes a woman's relationship with herself, how somatic work connects the body and the nervous system. I am a nerd about all of it.

Now, about who I coach.

I work with women. All of them. The grandmother who wants to keep up with her grandkids and bend down to pick things up without wincing. The high-performing executive who sits at a desk all day and has not prioritized herself in years. The busy mom who gives everything to everyone else and has nothing left for her own body. The neurodivergent girlie who needs a plan that actually makes sense for her brain. The hiker who has a big mountain on her list and does not know where to start training. The woman who walks into a gym, looks around, and immediately wants to leave because she has no idea what any of the equipment is for.

Y'all, that last one? That is probably my most common client. And there is nothing wrong with that. Nobody is born knowing how to use a cable machine. The gym can feel like everybody else is in on a secret that you missed, and my job is to let you in on it.

A lot of the women I work with are dealing with back pain, low energy, and the feeling that everyday life is just getting a little harder than it used to be. They know they should work out. They want to. They just need someone to hand them a plan that fits their actual life, whether they are at a gym, at home, traveling, snowed in, or anywhere in between. That is why I coach online. I have clients in Connecticut, New York, California, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, and beyond, and I can be in their corner wherever they are.

This blog is going to be the free version of that. Workout tips you can actually use. Real talk about what to do when life gets in the way of your routine. How to make the gym feel like your space instead of someone else's. Why five minutes of movement is genuinely better than nothing, and I will die on that hill. Content for the woman who wants to train for a hike, for the woman who has not exercised in years, for the woman who is 63 and just decided this is her year.

I am your hype woman and I am so excited about where you are going.

If you want to work together one on one, my 12-week personalized coaching program includes a custom workout program through my coaching app, nutritional guidance, weekly check-ins, access to a private community, and me available by text pretty much always. You can learn more at clairesersunfitness.com or apply directly through my coaching app.

Not ready for that yet? Totally fine. Stay anyway. Subscribe to my newsletter to get new posts and free content sent straight to you, and come back whenever you need a little direction or a lot of hype.

So glad you are here, doll.

— Claire

Claire Sersun is an online fitness coach for women based between Brookfield, Connecticut and El Segundo, California, coaching clients across the US including Connecticut, New York, California, Arizona, Texas, and Colorado. She specializes in women's strength training, functional fitness, somatics, and online personal training for women at every stage of life.